Bank Holiday

Yesterday we had a bank holiday! YEAH for three day weekends. Our friend Lynne mentioned that she was going to go into London for the day. So we asked her if she wanted some company for that. We did several new things which as lots of fun. We visited Buckingham Palace and saw Kates wedding dress, we saw the changing of the gaurds, we found a bar-b-que restuarant, and we figured out the bus system. We have always used the tube but with a stroller getting down to the underground is a little bit much, so now we know how to use the buses!! YEAH for a great bank holiday.

Ben loved the train ride into the city and all the bus rides too.

Yummy bar-b-que!

More Portsmouth

On the bus ride from the harbor to southsea we saw this bag. Who knew that there was a Charlotte, South Carolina?! It made us laugh.

This weekend is the 20th annual kite festival. The kites were pretty amazing and Ben was very fascinated by them. Right across the street was the ocean, so of course we went there next...

Oh, I love the sound of the ocean!! It was great! A little cold but a beautiful day. Ben and Nate loved the rocks.

Ben really wanted to get in the water and of course, I was happy to oblige. So took off our shoes and socks and rolled up our pants and have a fab time in the water!

I think he would have gone all the way in if I had not held him back. A little Ostendorff blood in him.

Sweet time with my little guy. He talked about getting in the water all night long.

Portsmouth

My family is at the beach in South Carolina this week so some sweet friends here planned a little trip to the "seaside". (We went to a friends house on friday and they called it the seaside, which I think is just too fun.) We drove down to Portsmouth for the day. It was a beautiful day and we all had a great time. We walked around and we able to see all sorts of old boats and then we took a harbour tour. They showed us a bunch of the Royal Navy's ships.

Nate showing off his newly aquired walking skills.

Amazing ships!

Blessed and Encouraged

Oh, I love living in England and life is really not that bad so please know that before I start to vent a little. I have two little boys that are VERY active. Nate has started walking which means he has also started climbing and he can climb onto anything and everything. He will eventually learn, like Ben did that climbing onto the table is not allowed but at this point he just doesn't get it. So, it makes me life really exciting and busy. I love being a mom but it is a lot of hard work and frankly I am pretty selfish and like my life a certain way. Oh, I so want to look more like Jesus and I know that being a mother is refining me and taking out some of my sinfullness but at times it also highlights it and that is painful. ICKES!! I have been so blessed and encouraged by the following blog posts. They all speak to different areas of my life that I feel like that Father is talking to me and teaching me about. It is also just nice to know that there are other mothers who have hard days and don't get it right all the time. So, check out these posts and I hope you too are encouraged!
http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/motherhood-is-application
http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/motherhood-is-a-calling-and-where-your-children-rank
http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/motherhood-as-a-mission-field

"Papa"corn

In honor of my family being at the beach without me...we made some "papa"corn for snack one afternoon. And the fact that I really like popcorn. My dad is the popcorn maker in the family and since grandkids have come along it has become known as "papa"corn. Ben loves to watch it pop.

The Daniels!!!

Aunt Mary and Uncle Wayne are dear dear friends from Kenya days. They are now working in Uganda and flew home to the states via London. They took the train down one day and spent the day visiting with us. It was wonderful to sit and visit with them. Such dear friends that make living away from friends and family easier!

The box

We worked on another room this weekend called "the box" here because it is so small. So, here it is...

The landlord left this book shelf here and we are so thankful! It is perfect! We are slowly but surely accrueing projects for my mom when she comes in November, like pillows for the lounge. Did I mention my mom is coming in November?! Could I be more excited? Probably not, unless my dad decides to come....just kidding dad, no pressure.

Ignoring and celebrating...

So, my family is all at the beach this week. YUCK!! Wish I could be there with them in a bad way but oh well. So, I have decided that I am going to ignore it and we are going to celebrate here instead. So, to kick off the week, we walked into town to a coffee shop to celebrate our dear friend Becky's birthday.

Ben and Nate with their sweet "aunt" Becky. Since we are missing our aunts and uncles we just have adopted new ones.

We had a great time talking and celebrating Becky's life!

A cuddle!

One of the words they use here that I just love is cuddle! I love getting cuddles from my boys and Ben has started using the word too. So, on Saturday morning when he asked for Nate to come cuddle with him, I couldn't resist! It lasted only seconds but it was fun to see my boys cuddling.

Sweet Emily!

I love this picture! Emily has been my lifesaver and breath of fresh air. She is a college student that has been watching the boys so I can get a couple hours during the week to run errands and have Sara time. She also babysits so we can have dates! This past Thursday night, Allen and I went out to eat and had a wonderful date thanks to Emily!!

Package

We got a package this week! Nate and Ben would not look at the camera, they were intent on the package.

Ben playing with his new trucks wearing a Johnny Rockets hat.

Nate got a fun train set but all the pictures were blurry. Sorry! So, here he is trying on the hat like his brother. He has become quite the copy cat.

He's walking!!

Nate is 13 and a half months and he is walking!! He has taken a step here and there since he was 12 months old. However on Saturday night at a friends house he really got the swing of it. My little boy is growing up and he is so fun to watch. You can tell by the pictures that he is in full motion now!

Redhill Commons

Last weekend we went and explored Redhill commons. It is the "public" land for our town where you can go and hike, people take their dogs, go for walks, picnics, etc. It is not a very large area but it was still fun to walk around and enjoy the view. The boys loved it and Allen loved all the dog watching.

Nate practicing standing. Yes, it is August and we are wearing sweatshirts!

Ben finding one of the many sticks he collected through the afternoon.